All Eyes On Taghrooda At Ascot on Saturday

The three-year-old filly, owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, is out to follow in the footsteps of Pawneese who won the fillies' Classic at Epsom Downs by five lengths before a length victory over Bruni in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1976

Taghrooda would be only the second Oaks winner to capture the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the same year if successful at Ascot on Saturday.

The three-year-old filly, owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, trained by John Gosden and likely to be ridden by Paul Hanagan, is out to follow in the footsteps of Pawneese who won the fillies' Classic at Epsom Downs by five lengths before a length victory over Bruni in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1976.

The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Britain's top middle-distance race, is being run for the 64th time. Three-year-olds and four-year-olds have both been successful 28 times, while five-year-olds have won six renewals and one six-year-old has been victorious.

Brown Panther, part owned by Michael Owen and trained by Tom Dascombe, is the only six-year-old still engaged this year, while there are two five-year-olds - the William Haggas-trained Mukhadram, another owned by Sheikh Hamdan, who was successful in the Group One Coral-Eclipse last time out, and the Lady Cecil-trained Noble Mission who runs in Khalid Abdullah's famous colours.

The winner of the Eclipse has gone on to victory 12 times (in the same year) in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, though none has triumphed at Ascot since Opera House in 1993.

Noble Mission gained his first Group One victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh earlier this year and three winners of the Irish race have won the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the same year.